Everyone knows Canada's population is aging, but a new study by Statistics Canada saying the number of seniors will outnumber children within a few years should be a wakeup call for all Canadians.
The federal agency is suggesting the entire baby-boom generation will turn 65 by 2031 and by 2036 the number of seniors is projected to reach between 9.9 million and 10.9 million - more than double the 2009 level of 4.7 million.
The study also points out that the number of seniors will surpass the number of children under age 14 for the first time between 2015 and 2021 and that the median age of Canada's population is going to grow to 42-45 years by 2036.
These findings should be shocking to Canadians for several reasons. As the population ages, there are fewer young people to fill the jobs that are vacated. We are already seeing this in many health-care professions – i.e. physicians and nurses – and it's only a matter of time before a shrinking labour pool will impact other skilled professions.
Also, as the population ages, rural communities will find it harder to maintain a certain level of services. Schools and hospitals will close and businesses will pull up stakes and follow the workers.
We also must not forget the strain there will be on the health care system with more patients and fewer people to look after them. Get the picture?
The fact is Canadians are not having as many children as they did during the baby-boom era. While it would be easy for Ottawa to fix the problem by telling Canadians to have bigger families, the economic realities associated with raising a child may make that a difficult campaign to bring to fruition.
What it does mean is that communities in every province and territory must prepare now for what the 2030s, 2040s and beyond may bring. That means putting strategies in place today that will ensure the basic services that meet the needs of all Canadians are there tomorrow, when they're needed most by an even older population.
